Thursday, December 15, 2011

Guy Savoy - (Singapore)

Executive Chef Eric Bost overlooks the new Marina Bay Sands Guy Savoy in Singapore, a restaurant which carries a 3 Michelin Star status in the Paris parent restaurant and Eric was the recipient of Michelin 2 Stars in the Las Vegas guide when he was heading that kitchen! One of the biggest attractions about visiting the Guy Savoy run restaurants around the globe is that all outlets carry the same updated menu as its parent all around the year. Which means a customer whether eating in Las Vegas or Singapore is deservingly receiving what is being served back at home in Paris upon every visit. My meal was a TGV Dinner set meal which consists of 4 Courses @ SGD180 plus I ordered an extra White Truffle Based Dish, however do be warned that Guy Savoy does not have a Wine by the Glass list and trust me, you’ll be shocked when you see that final bill plus services and tax. It is certainly room for concern.

Interior is spaced out on the floor plan -The internal dim light and pinkish interiors are a nightmare for photos though.

Echire Butter and the Aero like layout was Classic -Almost reminds me of Gypsy tarot reading sessions for some reason

Forgasse -Freshly baked and sliced infront of the customer. This was good. ~ 8/10

(Top) Carrot and Daikon in Carrot soup and Orange Powder -(Bottom) Surprise - Orange Puree and Orange Royale, Crisp and Herb -This comes in 2 parts. The top bit was a refreshing soup with orange powder, but once you lift it up you’re presented with a ‘surprise’ below this Alessi looking dish! It’s an orange jelly like thing. This is part of the amuse bouche. ~ 7/10

Chestnuts All Around -Chestnut, Chestnut Milk, Chip, and Chestnut Royale, with Celery and Celery leaf. Different tastes and textures of chestnuts. The celeries were a good pairing. I didn’t think this was overly complex in terms of recipe but it was a dish that I enjoyed especially with the chestnut milk which worked like a veloute ~ 8/10

Domain de L’Aurage, Cotes de Castillon - SGD $37This was suggested by the sommelier as a drink that could cover most of the dishes, as I wasn’t feeling too well to drink lots of wine on the evening. This is a new and upcoming wine which is heavily merlot biased and carried a lot of finesse and balance for the next 30 minutes. I liked this but in hindsight thought this was a little over-priced, especially without any indications of what price range we’re talking about. I am fine with this price level in Paris for a red but they really ought to carry a menu with clear pricing on it! ~ 8/10

Epi Bread -I love epi and I have high expectations. A lot of epi bread are a little too ‘white’ for my liking, this one was probably mid-level with an external crunch but too white bread of a centre. Not as artisanal bread as I would have liked but I’ve had way worst elsewhere ~ 6.5/10

White Truffle Box -The aroma was decent, but it flashed for a few seconds then didn’t persist.I’ve remembered meals where the White Truffle filled the entire room, but this batch was ok only. Still, it was slightly better than the lot I got at 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo last year.

Scallop Carpaccio with Alba White Truffles, Glazed Orecchiette, Poached Quail Egg and Cauliflower and Mascarpone - SGD $72.5 Half PortionThis is one expensive White Truffles dish for a half sized portion as it is around HKD 1000 for a full serving, but at the end it was bigger than I’d imagined so it was fair. As I watched the truffle being sliced on the mandoline I cringed (oh no!), because the server was shaving them in fast repetitive wrist motions rather then a singular 1 swift move - this hurried method always ends up with broken discs of truffle rather than proper full slices, like the clean looking ones served at SPOON by Alain Ducasse for instance. On the other hand this dish was great in taste, with a weak cheesy component so it doesn’t spoil the balance and also the raw scallops. Two poached quail eggs were a lovely addition and lubricated the orecchiette pasta. A thoughtful dish that surprisingly worked. ~ 8/10

Cabillaud in Winter Style -With a sauce of Coriander and herbs infused Olive Oil with Coriander Seeds, surrounding a Seared then Poached Cod fish, Onion Puree, Artichoke confit and artichokechip, Spring Onion, and Celery Crisp. The cod fish was cooked perfectly, not that hard to achieve but still appreciated! I think this dish overall saw numerous components added together but it couldn’t create any fireworks. ~ 6.5/10

Game Bird 'Tourte' -Duck Foie Gras with meat from 3 birds of Quail, Pigeon and Duck. Served with Chanterelles, also a Foie gras and Game bird derived jus on the other hand was definitely a winner and why I’d chosen the TGV Menu tonight, as is also recommended by the server. Singapore doesn’t really have Winters but since Guy Savoy does the same dishes all around the globe, here we are eating near the equator but what is a gamey Wintery dish! The pie crust was excellently cooked and so was the sauce, which worked well with the above Bordeaux wine. The internal meat and foie gras filling was like a pate but probably a little too dense. Overall still quite enjoyable ~ 8/10

Inside of the Tourte -

A Sweet Dessert Wine from Alsace, Vendanges Tardives de Gewurztraminer - SGD $40This is an organic wine and one of the best wines that I like, used to pair with my citrusy dessert below. Again in hindsight I did have a problem with this as an AUD$30 or HKD$240 glass of dessert wine, which is over the board if there is no pricing indication at first. I don’t mind paying for it if I could choose from my own options, but for general customers and when measured relative to the menu price this was out of normal proportions even by European standards.

The Petits Fours Trolley ! -Ok this was very impressive when it arrived. Unlike a normal dessert cart this was filled with goodies from candies to chocolates, minardises to panna cottas for the petits fours course. Impressive!

Apple Sorbet with Vanilla and Black Pepper sauce -I thought the desserts were by now finished, but out came another final course. So even though advertised as being 1 dessert, I ended up getting 4! May be this makes up for the huge mark up in the wines.. ~ 8/10

Home Made Petits Fours -When you walk out of the door, you’re given some candies of caramels as well. That makes 5 sweets! I think I like Guy Savoy for their sweet things now…

This is a full package from start to finish that’s what I can say. May be just missing out on Parisian standards but every step of the way has been planned meticulously. All it comes down to is expectation! As with all haute cuisine meals, one meal might be better or worst depending on timing and luck, but I definitely felt the meal tonight had been given a lot of thought even though some dishes might not work as well as others. Will definitely be back but probably going to ASK about wine prices beforehand next time, as otherwise I might as well open a full bottle or 2 at these prices.. Even if I can afford it I don’t like getting ripped off, especially considering that in Singapore a Chicken Rice typically costs SGD $3 to $6 max and also takes a lot of effort to cook. The world needs to be measured fairly, right?